Syrian Christians hold out hope for kidnapped bishops, priest

April 20, 2015

The apostolic nuncio in Syria has reporting mounting fears about the fate of two Orthodox bishops and a Catholic priests who remaining missing two years after being abducted.

Archbishop Mario Zenari, the Vatican’s representative in Damascus, told the AsiaNews service that there has been no news recently about the whereabouts of Orthodox Metropolitans Boulos Yazigi and Gregorios Youhanna Ibrahim, who were kidnapped in April 2013; or Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, an Italian missionary who has been missing since July of the same year. While the faithful still hope that they will be released unharmed, he conceded that the absence of information “makes this more difficult.”

The archbishop reported that at least 20,000 people are missing in Syria today, after years of civil warfare.

The Syrian Orthodox Church has issued an appeal to international leaders to intervene on behalf of kidnap victims. Orthodox Patriarch Yohanna Yazigi, the brother of one of the kidnapped prelates, said that the Church has tried to open negotiations with anyone who might be involved, but has received no answers.

 

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Further information:

• Msgr. Zenari: prayers in Beirut and Damascus for kidnapped bishops and priests. Fears for their fate (AsiaNews)